Observing distinctive geologic features on asteroid Toutatis

(Phys.org)—Asteroid (4179) Toutatis, an Apollo-type near-Earth object (NEO) was thoroughly studied by Chinese Chang'e-2 spacecraft in 2012, when the space rock flew by Earth at a distance of 18 lunar distances. The probe, imaging the asteroid in high-resolution, has provided compelling information regarding Toutatis' geological structure. Now, a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has published a paper onarXiv that sums up the findings about the asteroid's distinctive